Wu Changkong

Once the group had settled into place, a handsome young man walked in.

His hands were tucked into his pockets, and his trench coat fluttered lightly as he moved. His gaze swept calmly over everyone.

He said nothing and gave no nod. Not a trace of expression crossed his ice-block face; he merely raised a hand in quiet acknowledgment.

Then he led them straight toward Class Five.

In truth, Li Qingyue was somewhat puzzled that Wu Changkong had personally taken charge of Class Five.

After all, Wu Changkong had brought some bad habits with him from Shrek Academy.

But when it came to teaching the essentials, he was unquestionably reliable.

His teaching ability, especially where practical combat experience was concerned, was far beyond that of ordinary teachers.

He was a Soul Emperor, and even across the entire region, his strength was by no means weak.

More importantly, even among those at the same level, a Soul Emperor from Shrek—or one of the four major organizations—was in a different league from Soul Emperors elsewhere.

What was more, Wu Changkong was a Two-Word Battle Armor Master.

Outside the four major organizations, over ninety percent of Soul Emperors could never become Battle Armor Masters.

For Wu Changkong to have become a Two-Word Battle Armor Master at this stage showed just how deep his foundations ran and how formidable his strength was.

From his place at the front of the classroom, Wu Changkong calmly swept his gaze over the students.

There was no particular spark in his eyes. He asked no extra questions and said nothing more.

He sat with one leg crossed over the other, flipping through the attendance register. After turning through it, his gaze finally came to rest on Li Qingyue.

Ever since they had entered the classroom, quite a few people had been glancing at Li Qingyue, deliberately or otherwise. His looks were simply too extraordinary to ignore.

But when Wu Changkong saw that the register listed Li Qingyue as a boy, only a faint flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. He paid it no further mind.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wu Changkong, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the time being. I'll be in charge of this class."

"Now we'll begin introductions. Let's start with Li Qingyue."

Wu Changkong's voice was steady. At his words, Li Qingyue stood without hesitation and faced his classmates calmly.

Most of them looked back at him with curiosity, taking in his strikingly beautiful face.

"My name is Li Qingyue. I'm nine years old and currently a Second Ring Soul Master. Also, I'm a boy, so please don't get the wrong idea."

Surprise showed plainly in quite a few eyes when they heard his introduction.

They exchanged glances, but despite their astonishment, no one said anything or asked him any questions.

Once Li Qingyue had finished, Wu Changkong signaled to the person beside him to introduce themselves. From there, the introductions continued one by one.

By the time everyone had finished, however, Wu Changkong's expression had grown distinctly odd.

Including Li Qingyue, Na'er, and Xie Xie, there were no fewer than three students at the second-ring level.

With their cultivation, all three could certainly have entered Class One.

Seeing all three in Class Five left Wu Changkong baffled.

He did not ask about it, though. He found it puzzling, but he was not especially curious.

After the students had introduced themselves, Wu Changkong wasted no words.

He briefly covered a few things they needed to keep in mind, then began the lesson.

What Wu Changkong taught was entirely different from the school's usual curriculum. The two had virtually nothing in common.

The knowledge he taught was what he had learned at Shrek Academy.

And he shared nearly all of it without reservation.

His explanations were meticulous. Even much of the Martial Soul Theory he taught differed completely from the school's.

Clearly, his version was more accurate, more consistent with reason, and more precise.

Li Qingyue and the others listened intently, absorbing it all.

The morning's lessons passed quickly.

When class ended, Wu Changkong briefly gathered his things and dismissed everyone to go back and prepare.

It was still early in the term, after all, and the school had not scheduled many classes yet.

Once regular classes were underway, the class challenge matches would begin.

Those were still at least a month away, though, so Wu Changkong did not bring them up.

He simply gave the students their instructions and was the first to leave the room.

With Wu Changkong gone, many students began packing their things, glancing at Li Qingyue now and then.

Li Qingyue had already put on a mask, partly hiding his face.

He was plainly fed up with the attention. No one would feel good about being stared at by a crowd for no reason.

Yet most of those looks came from curious children and held little hostility.

That only left Li Qingyue feeling helpless. For a moment, he even hated his own face.

Being so good-looking that people mistook him for a girl was bad enough. Having people stare at him all the time was an even greater nuisance.

Only when most of the others had left did Li Qingyue stand. Xie Xie and Na'er had waited quietly beside him.

"Qingyue, Teacher Wu is so handsome and dignified! Isn't he the perfect cool, aloof heartthrob?"

"He's my idol! I want to be just like him someday!"

Xie Xie's eyes shone with excitement as he spoke.

Na'er said nothing, but she could not help rolling her eyes at him.

Xie Xie was the sunny, cheerful type of boy—the complete opposite of someone cool and reserved.

Li Qingyue merely nodded. All he wanted from Wu Changkong was the chance to learn under him; he had given little thought to anything else.

The group ate lunch together. They had no classes that afternoon.

When they returned to the dormitory, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi were nowhere to be seen. Only Li Qingyue and Xie Xie had come back.

Li Qingyue did not care where the other two had gone.

Xie Xie invited Li Qingyue to go out with him, but Li Qingyue declined.

He could sense an aura approaching him.

It belonged to an Emanator—one he had chosen himself.

An Emanator of that kind could wield a measure of an Aeon's authority, and Leng Xiaoyue was currently the only one to whom he had passed it on.

So Leng Xiaoyue must be on her way.

Li Qingyue was not surprised that she knew he was at Eastsea Academy.

Clearly, though, she had not dared contact him, perhaps for fear of causing trouble. That was why she had kept her distance.

But he could not leave Leng Xiaoyue wandering around over there forever.

So Li Qingyue decided to meet her and see how she was doing.

He valued Leng Xiaoyue, too. They had spent three years together, after all.

In time, she could become an Emanator Li Qingyue could truly trust.